James & Gemma do Tokyo Disneyland - Day 3

[James&Gemma]

James & Gemma do Tokyo Disneyland - Day 3

After a really good nights sleep we were up at 6 in the shower and ready to go down for breakfast by 6.45. This was the view that greeted us.




When we got down we were supprised how busy it was, the restaurant opened at 6.30 and was already over half full, they obviously get up early here. We were greeted, asked for our breakfast vouchers and then shown to our seats and told how it all worked. It was a buffet style with almost anything and everything you could possibly imagine. There were the usual offerings of bacon, eggs, sausages etc. as well as other things such a spaghetti in sauce, chicken curry, chips, deep fried white fish and all other host of Japanese dishes and all before 7am . We just went for a typical English breakfast with a couple of quirky other things to try and then headed back to the room to wrap up warm for the day ahead.






Today's theme park is Disney Sea.

We got on the monorail and one stop later we were at the entrance of the park just as it opened.







Gemma, as always, went straight to the longest line to get in while I stood back and had a quick scan of the area. I then called over to her to a side entrance that almost no one was using and we were straight in.

[James&Gemma]

We made our way straight to The Journey to the Centre of the earth.









As we approached this ride we notice a big queue for the fast pass already and an even bigger queue for the ride itself. They always have cast members at the end of the queue line with a sign telling you where to join it.



As you can imagine with that many people queuing it can be quite confusing where the actual line is. I'm making notes for this trippie while in the queue line and I'm amazed that even though I can't get a mobile signal at work under a volcano I've got full signal. In the queue line you see all the equipment and drawings for the mission to the center of the earth before going down in the lifts. They make you feel as though you are travelling deep in to the core of the earth where you board your vehicle. I won’t spoil as to how its done but it is very clever

[James&Gemma]

Including ride time we only ended up queuing for an hour despite the huge queue line. One thing we can say is that they know how to move people through the ride so don't be put off by long queues they do always seem to be moving.

After Journey to the Centre of the Earth we head over to Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull










There is already a 180minute so we queue to get some fast passes and head over to the Arabian Coast going past Raging Spirits.





Jasmines Carpets looks absolutely stunning, for those of you who don’t know the back story Jasmines Carpets is basically an Aladdin’s Flying Carpets themed differently. The story goes that Disney Sea could have had the Aladdin ride for about $7million (don’t quote me on that) but as they wanted the ride to fit seamlessly in to the park they wanted it themed differently and so despite a price tag of $21million they had Jasmines carpets made. I’ve got to say, good move Disney it looks amazing. (There should be some more pictures of this coming up in the next few days)






We then go past Sinbad’s Storybook Voyage (we’ll be going on this later)

[James&Gemma]

Before heading over to the Caravan Carousel










After this we headed over to mermaid lagoon. This is a really well themed indoor area and importantly for this time of year it's very warm.

[James&Gemma]

While here we went into the Mermaid Lagoon Theater for the Under the Sea Show. This is a fantastic show that has a very Cirque du Soleil feel about it with aerial aerobatics and very impressive animatronics.



After the show we had a final look around Mermaid Lagoon and then headed out via the flounders flying fish coaster.






We then headed over to the Lost River Delta and into the Hanger Stage for the Mystic rhythms show.



After this we headed over to port discovery and was amazed to see some fast passes still available so we picked one up for Storm Rider.






It was then over to the American Waterfront






They LOVE Duffy




We then headed to the Cape Cod cook off for some Lunch which was nothing exciting just the usual Cheeseburger with chips and a drink. It was nice to find a bit of salad in the burger though. Another thing worth mentioning is that after you get your food you then take your tray and go to where the tables are where you are then taken to a clean empty table. Also I'm sure we've mentioned it before and no doubt will again but yes there was a very long queue to get served but it went very quickly and it only took about 10miniutes before we were say down enjoying our food.

[James&Gemma]

We then continued along the American waterfront








Passing the 200minute queue for toy story mania (which we ended up realizing was a really short waiting time)






Then picked up a quick, very cute snack

[James&Gemma]

Then on to see The Legend of Mythica.














We then went over to storm rider to use our fast pass, this ride is very similar to Armageddon in DLP.





Then on to Indiana jones and the crystal skull, this is basically an updated version of the Indiana Jones ride at California, which is one of Gemma’s Favorite rides.





Then over to Sinbad’s Storybook Voyage, which is a boat ride telling the story of Sinbad with an even more catchy song than it’s a small world. It may only be a boat ride which we had previously read really bad reviews for but we would highly recommend it because the animatronics are amazing and the overall feel of the ride it great.

[James&Gemma]

We then took some more pictures of Arabian Coast as the sun was setting and the lights were coming on.



Then headed over to Mysterious Island to ride 20’000 Leagues Under the Sea but unfortunately it was closed.





So went over to Fortress Explorations










We then decided to get back over to Mediterranean Harbor and get ready for Fantasmic.




There are 2 things worth mentioning here. The first is the crowds, everyone sits down on the floor to watch shows. If you don’t want to sit on the floor you can stand behind everyone who is sitting so everyone gets a great view.

There are also rules to watching the show that I hope will catch on in other parks. These include that camera’s and other recording devices are not allowed to be held above head height. Children are not allowed to be put on shoulders and all hats must be removed. These are strictly enforced by Cast Members and really does make a huge difference to watching shows.

Fantasmic here is unlike any other park and is shown on a giant wizards hat, unfortunately there aren’t many pictures but it really was a great show.



After the show we headed over to Tower of Terror via the Gondoliers for one last ride of the day.

[James&Gemma]

As Japan has never seen the likes of the Twilight Zone the ride has a different theme and story line. The story is based in New York 1912, the hotel is known as the "Tower of Terror," so called after the mysterious disappearance of its owner (Mr Hightower) in 1899 after bringing back a mysterious cursed statue from his latest adventure. Now, the New York City Preservation Society has finished restoring the infamous hotel, and started giving tours to the public.










After this the park was closed so we headed back to the hotel for a well needed sleep.




Tomorrow, Tokyo Disneyland

[kcsunshine73]

This park looks absolutely awesome! My kids (12yo DS and 8yo DD) will find sthg for both of them! And DD loves her Duffy, even buying him a pyjama and blanket set for his Christmas present (with her Christmas money!) so I must remember to let her take him in o the park with her!
Thanks for all the fab photos of the mermaid area in particular - looks fab!